Years 1000 to 1150
See also : China Song and Yuan Chinese porcelain Ancient Chinese porcelain Landscape Ancient sculpture Musical instrument Buddhism India Tibet and Nepal Chinese calligraphy Autograph
1080 Calligraphy Letter by Zeng Gong
2016 SOLD for RMB yuan 207M including premium by China Guardian
Post sale press release.
ca 1080 Nine Words for the Palace Administrator
2013 SOLD 8.2 M$ including premium
The Song era was intellectually brilliant and refined. Politically engaged, Su Shi was a universal spirit of that time, altogether writer, traveler, poet, engineer and gourmet.
On September 19 in New York, Sotheby's sells a hanging scroll autographed by Su Shi, 28 x 9.5 cm. In nine words written about 930 years ago, the author identifies himself and bids his farewell to Gong Fu, then administrator of the palace of Duanzhou.
Calligraphy means "beautiful writing". In these early days, the styles are already established since a long time. The beauty of the line is essential, more than the text, to honor the addressee. Su Shi practices with the required virtuosity a writing that combines running and standard styles.
Indeed, each of the nine words is a work of art, but their disposition, here in two columns, is also important because it brings a musicality to the whole message.
Like all outstanding documents from ancient China, the scroll is accompanied by seals and colophons. Its oldest collector's stamp dates from the Ming dynasty. Its earliest colophon, during the reign of Qianlong, is a detailed expert study comparing the biographies of the two men in order to establish the date of the work.
The document is in superb condition despite its age.
POST SALE COMMENT
This ancient example of beautiful writing made by an outstanding man in Chinese history was sold for $ 8.2 million including premium.
In the video below, Sotheby's summarizes with some examples the unique characteristics of the art of Chinese calligraphy for introducing this lot and demonstrating its importance.
On September 19 in New York, Sotheby's sells a hanging scroll autographed by Su Shi, 28 x 9.5 cm. In nine words written about 930 years ago, the author identifies himself and bids his farewell to Gong Fu, then administrator of the palace of Duanzhou.
Calligraphy means "beautiful writing". In these early days, the styles are already established since a long time. The beauty of the line is essential, more than the text, to honor the addressee. Su Shi practices with the required virtuosity a writing that combines running and standard styles.
Indeed, each of the nine words is a work of art, but their disposition, here in two columns, is also important because it brings a musicality to the whole message.
Like all outstanding documents from ancient China, the scroll is accompanied by seals and colophons. Its oldest collector's stamp dates from the Ming dynasty. Its earliest colophon, during the reign of Qianlong, is a detailed expert study comparing the biographies of the two men in order to establish the date of the work.
The document is in superb condition despite its age.
POST SALE COMMENT
This ancient example of beautiful writing made by an outstanding man in Chinese history was sold for $ 8.2 million including premium.
In the video below, Sotheby's summarizes with some examples the unique characteristics of the art of Chinese calligraphy for introducing this lot and demonstrating its importance.
Northern Song - The Tree of the Calligrapher
2018 SOLD for HK$ 460M including premium
Under the Song, the literati are philosophers and humanists who sometimes have the audacity to oppose imperial politics. Their supreme mode of expression is calligraphy, which conveys to their readers the firmness and rhythm of their thought.
In 1071 CE, Su Shi had been expelled from the capital, starting at the age of 34 a second career as a provincial servant with increasingly mediocre missions despite his immense talent. He died in 1101. His younger friend Mi Fu escaped political persecution by his reputation for eccentricity. They were the two best calligraphers in their lifetime.
A nine-character autograph message on a 28 x 9.5 cm sheet sent by Su Shi to the governor of a locality that he was leaving was sold for $ 8.2M including premium by Sotheby's on September 19, 2013.
Graphic art is exceptional in their works. The movement of the artist's hand is the same as for calligraphy. The rare drawings by Su Shi translate emotions too deep to be expressed in words. Mi Fu will only paint in the last years of his life, mostly after Su Shi's death.
On November 26 in Hong Kong, Christie's sells as lot 8008 a 26 x 50 cm ink on paper painted by Su Shi. This piece is extended by many colophons including an appreciation calligraphed by Mi Fu, and includes many seals. Please watch two videos shared by the auction house.
The image consists of two elements that join together : a leafless tree twisted into several undulations and a bulky rock. The dryness of the tree expresses the desolation of the artist in his exile while at the opposite edge on the left flank of the rock the sparse bamboos bring the hope of a new vitality.
In 1071 CE, Su Shi had been expelled from the capital, starting at the age of 34 a second career as a provincial servant with increasingly mediocre missions despite his immense talent. He died in 1101. His younger friend Mi Fu escaped political persecution by his reputation for eccentricity. They were the two best calligraphers in their lifetime.
A nine-character autograph message on a 28 x 9.5 cm sheet sent by Su Shi to the governor of a locality that he was leaving was sold for $ 8.2M including premium by Sotheby's on September 19, 2013.
Graphic art is exceptional in their works. The movement of the artist's hand is the same as for calligraphy. The rare drawings by Su Shi translate emotions too deep to be expressed in words. Mi Fu will only paint in the last years of his life, mostly after Su Shi's death.
On November 26 in Hong Kong, Christie's sells as lot 8008 a 26 x 50 cm ink on paper painted by Su Shi. This piece is extended by many colophons including an appreciation calligraphed by Mi Fu, and includes many seals. Please watch two videos shared by the auction house.
The image consists of two elements that join together : a leafless tree twisted into several undulations and a bulky rock. The dryness of the tree expresses the desolation of the artist in his exile while at the opposite edge on the left flank of the rock the sparse bamboos bring the hope of a new vitality.
Christie’s Announces 1000-year-old $50m Su Shi Scroll https://t.co/eVdovdYFyr pic.twitter.com/XpeTTOdBby
— Art Market Monitor (@artmarket) August 30, 2018
1095 Ancient Chinese Calligraphy
2010 SOLD 436 M RMB yuan including premium
The East Asian calligraphy can be interpreted as a means of linking poetry to graphic art. In fact, it is a form of art by itself, although not available and rarely commented on the Western market. Come directly to Beijing.
Exactly one year ago, Poly sold a fine collection of Qing calligraphy made in very large letters by the emperors themselves in order to spread moral slogans. Such imperial calligraphy is a very ancient tradition as some writings by the second Tang emperor are known.
A scroll of paper from Song period is for sale at Beijing by Poly International Auction on June 3. 37 cm high with a length exceeding 8 meters, it is completely covered with characters drawn in ink by Huang Tingjian, one of the most famous master calligraphers of his time. It is a fine example of his art consisting of semi-cursive letters in an energetic and accentuated style. Depending on location, this text includes from 4 to 15 characters within the height.
This artwork seems being very well maintained despite its age: Huang died 905 years ago. The online catalog does not provide information on the contents of the text. Unlike most lots of this important sale, the estimate is not published.
POST SALE COMMENT
It is a triumph for culture. It was registered in China on a Chinese piece, by a Chinese auction house: 390 million RMB hammer price, RMB 436 million including premium. The buyer has paid the equivalent of U.S. $ 63.8 million.
After this success, I found some additional information on the lot itself.
Completed around 1095 of our calendar, it contains 600 characters of which some examples are presented in the article shared by China Daily. Titled Di Zhu Ming, it is a copy of a Tang poem.
It was originally a little over 8 meters long, and was enlarged to 15 meters by comments. It includes a small portrait of the calligrapher artist.
Exactly one year ago, Poly sold a fine collection of Qing calligraphy made in very large letters by the emperors themselves in order to spread moral slogans. Such imperial calligraphy is a very ancient tradition as some writings by the second Tang emperor are known.
A scroll of paper from Song period is for sale at Beijing by Poly International Auction on June 3. 37 cm high with a length exceeding 8 meters, it is completely covered with characters drawn in ink by Huang Tingjian, one of the most famous master calligraphers of his time. It is a fine example of his art consisting of semi-cursive letters in an energetic and accentuated style. Depending on location, this text includes from 4 to 15 characters within the height.
This artwork seems being very well maintained despite its age: Huang died 905 years ago. The online catalog does not provide information on the contents of the text. Unlike most lots of this important sale, the estimate is not published.
POST SALE COMMENT
It is a triumph for culture. It was registered in China on a Chinese piece, by a Chinese auction house: 390 million RMB hammer price, RMB 436 million including premium. The buyer has paid the equivalent of U.S. $ 63.8 million.
After this success, I found some additional information on the lot itself.
Completed around 1095 of our calendar, it contains 600 characters of which some examples are presented in the article shared by China Daily. Titled Di Zhu Ming, it is a copy of a Tang poem.
It was originally a little over 8 meters long, and was enlarged to 15 meters by comments. It includes a small portrait of the calligrapher artist.
The Exquisite Flower of the Northern Song
2014 SOLD 147 MHK$ including premium
On April 8 in Hong Kong, Sotheby's sells a basin made in white porcelain at the time of the Northern Song Dynasty 900 years ago or slightly earlier. This piece in excellent condition is estimated HK $ 60M, lot 11 in the catalog. Its glaze is colored in two very close ivory shades.
This large bowl 22 cm in diameter with high walls enters into the category of the Ding, vessels of good purity used for food or medicine. It is however the high end in this category, with some extreme refinements unique of their kind.
Its theme is floral, first of all by its eight lobes of lotus petal shape. Inside, the floral patterns are finely incised under the glaze, barely noticeable in the photos. The central medallion is decorated with a peony and lotus stems adorn the inside walls. The exterior is blank.
The rim of the bowl is colored by a brown copper strip enabled by sparings in the glaze. This nice addition met the fashion of the time but did not please the emperor. It explains the development of the Ru production, monochrome without sparings, in the very last years of the dynasty.
A Ru washer also shaped as a lobed flower, 13.5 cm diameter, masterpiece of the tactile porcelain art of the Song, was sold for HK 208M including premium by Sotheby's on April 4, 2012.
POST SALE COMMENT
The Song porcelain reached an extraordinary refinement. The well deserved price of this basin, HK $ 147M including premium, is all the more remarkable as this piece was perhaps not imperial.
This large bowl 22 cm in diameter with high walls enters into the category of the Ding, vessels of good purity used for food or medicine. It is however the high end in this category, with some extreme refinements unique of their kind.
Its theme is floral, first of all by its eight lobes of lotus petal shape. Inside, the floral patterns are finely incised under the glaze, barely noticeable in the photos. The central medallion is decorated with a peony and lotus stems adorn the inside walls. The exterior is blank.
The rim of the bowl is colored by a brown copper strip enabled by sparings in the glaze. This nice addition met the fashion of the time but did not please the emperor. It explains the development of the Ru production, monochrome without sparings, in the very last years of the dynasty.
A Ru washer also shaped as a lobed flower, 13.5 cm diameter, masterpiece of the tactile porcelain art of the Song, was sold for HK 208M including premium by Sotheby's on April 4, 2012.
POST SALE COMMENT
The Song porcelain reached an extraordinary refinement. The well deserved price of this basin, HK $ 147M including premium, is all the more remarkable as this piece was perhaps not imperial.
Perfection and Diversity of the Ru Ware
2017 SOLD for HK$ 294M including premium
The Ru ware manufactured 900 years ago in present-day Henan province is the most prestigious of all Chinese porcelain for various causes related to the technological development, to the taste of their time and to chance.
By a positioning on tiny studs during cooking without turning the piece upside down, the glaze savings that so displeased at the court of the Northern Song are avoided. The celadon color of which several shades are available equals the refinement of the jade. In the fashion of that time perfect proportions and minimalism are preferred to the complexity of shapes.
Located on what was to become a border zone between north and south, the Ru kilns did not survive the fall of the Northern Song. Their undocumented activity which was perhaps not in the service of the court had only lasted about two decades.
A quarter of a century after the fall of the Northern Song a courtier presents to the Gaozong Emperor of the Southern Song a significant group of Ru ware. The Emperor who was just managing to restore the legendary refinement of his dynasty admires the exceptional quality of these porcelains and especially some pieces whose surface has a texture like ice crackles. This effect modeling the creation of minerals in nature is appreciated as sensational. It was related to the chance of the cooling conditions in the Ru kilns but the Southern Song potters discovered the conditions to be applied to create such a texture at will.
87 pieces of Ru porcelain of the Northern Song are known. Four of them are in private hands.
On April 4, 2012 Sotheby's sold for HK $ 208M including premium over a lower estimate of HK $ 50M a brush washer 13.5 cm in diameter slightly lobed with a smooth texture and a pale color which is close to jade.
On October 3 in Hong Kong, Sotheby's sells as lot 5 a 13 cm round brush washer This intense blue-green piece has an exceptionally shiny crackled surface. The press release of August 22 announces that it is expected in excess of HK $ 100M. Please watch the short video shared by the auction house.
By a positioning on tiny studs during cooking without turning the piece upside down, the glaze savings that so displeased at the court of the Northern Song are avoided. The celadon color of which several shades are available equals the refinement of the jade. In the fashion of that time perfect proportions and minimalism are preferred to the complexity of shapes.
Located on what was to become a border zone between north and south, the Ru kilns did not survive the fall of the Northern Song. Their undocumented activity which was perhaps not in the service of the court had only lasted about two decades.
A quarter of a century after the fall of the Northern Song a courtier presents to the Gaozong Emperor of the Southern Song a significant group of Ru ware. The Emperor who was just managing to restore the legendary refinement of his dynasty admires the exceptional quality of these porcelains and especially some pieces whose surface has a texture like ice crackles. This effect modeling the creation of minerals in nature is appreciated as sensational. It was related to the chance of the cooling conditions in the Ru kilns but the Southern Song potters discovered the conditions to be applied to create such a texture at will.
87 pieces of Ru porcelain of the Northern Song are known. Four of them are in private hands.
On April 4, 2012 Sotheby's sold for HK $ 208M including premium over a lower estimate of HK $ 50M a brush washer 13.5 cm in diameter slightly lobed with a smooth texture and a pale color which is close to jade.
On October 3 in Hong Kong, Sotheby's sells as lot 5 a 13 cm round brush washer This intense blue-green piece has an exceptionally shiny crackled surface. The press release of August 22 announces that it is expected in excess of HK $ 100M. Please watch the short video shared by the auction house.
900-year-old dish to smash US$36 million auction world record for Chinese antiques https://t.co/U56WqVJCQB pic.twitter.com/H7bBHIqiIv
— SCMP News (@SCMP_News) August 24, 2017
The Kilns of the Northern Song
2012 SOLD 208 MHK$ including premium
In the history of mankind, artistic refinement is not a matter of continuous improvement, as one might believe. The chemical secret of the Imperial ceramics of the Northern Song is lost for a long time, and the quality of the smooth and translucent glaze using agate powder will never be equaled.
The best production center was known as the Ru kilns, Ru yao in Chinese. Ru ceramics are very rare because this operation lasted only a few years, 900 years ago during Zhezong and Huizong periods and was stopped by the fall of the dynasty. The site of the Ru yao, lost since the Yuan, was located in 1987 in Henan Province and excavated in 2000.
The classic color of Ru is a very pale blue-green jade imitation. A specimen in very good condition is for sale on April 4 in Hong Kong by Sotheby's. This is a washer of 13.5 cm in diameter that could be used to rinse the brushes after writing. The form is also interesting. The edge is pinched in six locations, simulating the petals of a flower.
This washer was known long before the rediscovery of the site. It is estimated HK $ 60M. It is illustrated on Sotheby's website page announcing the sale.
POST SALE COMMENT
This piece of ceramics had caused great excitement in the weeks preceding the sale. It demonstrates an exceptional technical mastery despite its earliness, probably inimitable since the end of the Northern Song Dynasty.
It was sold HK $ 208 million including premium.
The best production center was known as the Ru kilns, Ru yao in Chinese. Ru ceramics are very rare because this operation lasted only a few years, 900 years ago during Zhezong and Huizong periods and was stopped by the fall of the dynasty. The site of the Ru yao, lost since the Yuan, was located in 1987 in Henan Province and excavated in 2000.
The classic color of Ru is a very pale blue-green jade imitation. A specimen in very good condition is for sale on April 4 in Hong Kong by Sotheby's. This is a washer of 13.5 cm in diameter that could be used to rinse the brushes after writing. The form is also interesting. The edge is pinched in six locations, simulating the petals of a flower.
This washer was known long before the rediscovery of the site. It is estimated HK $ 60M. It is illustrated on Sotheby's website page announcing the sale.
POST SALE COMMENT
This piece of ceramics had caused great excitement in the weeks preceding the sale. It demonstrates an exceptional technical mastery despite its earliness, probably inimitable since the end of the Northern Song Dynasty.
It was sold HK $ 208 million including premium.
Northern Song - A Sky Blue Bowl
2018 SOLD for HK$ 56M including premium
The Qing emperors considered the Imperial Ru porcelain as the best of all time. Its production for a decade or so at the end of the Northern Song dynasty had not been documented in period.
It was identified by the Southern Song that the extreme quality of the Imperial Ru ware was due to the incorporation of agate powder into the glaze. The exploration of the kiln site discovered in Henan province in 1986 showed that they were made beside a mass production in ordinary porcelain.
The techniques applied to hold the pieces during heating and cooling were rudimentary, resulting in a very low yield correlated with the excavation of many fragments on the site.
It is possible that the Imperial Ru was essentially experimental, and applied to most shapes produced at the same place in the other techniques. Because of its top quality, the Southern Song could not do otherwise than qualifying it as 'imperial' and the Qing experts followed.
A sky blue tea bowl 10.2 cm in diameter and 5.2 cm in height surfaced in 2015. Its provenance from Japanese collections is indisputable and precedes for several decades the location of the kiln site. It had been broken, probably in the first part of the twentieth century, and repaired according to a traditional Japanese method including a filling of the gaps by a lacquer mixed with gold powder. It is considered complete.
This piece brings together two of the rarest features in its class.
The extreme scarcity of Imperial Ru bowls had already been highlighted by the Qianlong emperor. A slightly chipped example of identical shape and dimensions but in another color had been found on the kiln site.
Its sky blue color is unique among complete pieces but is also found on some excavated fragments. Highly appreciated in graphic arts by the Northern Song, this color was an attempt by the Ru potters to escape the traditional celadon.
This bowl will be sold by Christie's in Hong Kong on November 26, lot 8006.
It was identified by the Southern Song that the extreme quality of the Imperial Ru ware was due to the incorporation of agate powder into the glaze. The exploration of the kiln site discovered in Henan province in 1986 showed that they were made beside a mass production in ordinary porcelain.
The techniques applied to hold the pieces during heating and cooling were rudimentary, resulting in a very low yield correlated with the excavation of many fragments on the site.
It is possible that the Imperial Ru was essentially experimental, and applied to most shapes produced at the same place in the other techniques. Because of its top quality, the Southern Song could not do otherwise than qualifying it as 'imperial' and the Qing experts followed.
A sky blue tea bowl 10.2 cm in diameter and 5.2 cm in height surfaced in 2015. Its provenance from Japanese collections is indisputable and precedes for several decades the location of the kiln site. It had been broken, probably in the first part of the twentieth century, and repaired according to a traditional Japanese method including a filling of the gaps by a lacquer mixed with gold powder. It is considered complete.
This piece brings together two of the rarest features in its class.
The extreme scarcity of Imperial Ru bowls had already been highlighted by the Qianlong emperor. A slightly chipped example of identical shape and dimensions but in another color had been found on the kiln site.
Its sky blue color is unique among complete pieces but is also found on some excavated fragments. Highly appreciated in graphic arts by the Northern Song, this color was an attempt by the Ru potters to escape the traditional celadon.
This bowl will be sold by Christie's in Hong Kong on November 26, lot 8006.
Northern Song - A Black Bowl with Russet Patterns
2018 SOLD for $ 4.2M including premium
The Ding kilns located in Hebei province in northeastern China were producing ceramics since the Tang dynasty. When porcelain begins to compete with jade for imperial use under the Northern Song, Ding is the most important source for these new wares. The bowls are normally stacked upside down during heating, leaving the mouth rim unglazed.
The beautiful creamy white Ding porcelains become commonplace and the court always demands more refinement. The Ding workshops add to their know-how the black porcelain bowls bringing a more pleasant vision of tea froth. The activity of the Ding kilns is not interrupted after the invasion of North China by the Jin in 1125 CE.
Ding potters know how to embellish their black porcelain with colorful effects. On March 22 in New York, Christie's sells as lot 506 a conical bowl 19 cm in diameter made by the Northern Song.
Its glaze is a dense and lustrous black. It is missing on the base and not on the rim, enabling to consider that its manufacture has been especially careful. The potter managed to avoid unpleasant red dots that sometimes appear on pieces from that technique.
Its outside and inner texture is composed of a radiant shower of very fine red-brown or russet splashes that may evoke shooting stars. An almost identical color appears on the mouth rim where the glaze is thinner. The only similar known example is at the National Palace Museum in Taipei. It is less glossy.
This practice of black bowls with colored patterns will be later extended in the Jian kilns of the Southern Song with continuous patterns described as hare fur, tea dust, partridge plumage or oil drops. The manufacturing process has not been retrieved. A Southern Song oil pattern bowl from the same Japanese collection as the piece of the next sale was sold for $ 11.7M including premium by Christie's on September 15, 2016.
The bowl coming for sale had been purchased by its current owner at Christie's in 2002 on the advice of an antique dealer. She evokes the sensational features of this piece in the video shared by The Value.com Ltd.
The beautiful creamy white Ding porcelains become commonplace and the court always demands more refinement. The Ding workshops add to their know-how the black porcelain bowls bringing a more pleasant vision of tea froth. The activity of the Ding kilns is not interrupted after the invasion of North China by the Jin in 1125 CE.
Ding potters know how to embellish their black porcelain with colorful effects. On March 22 in New York, Christie's sells as lot 506 a conical bowl 19 cm in diameter made by the Northern Song.
Its glaze is a dense and lustrous black. It is missing on the base and not on the rim, enabling to consider that its manufacture has been especially careful. The potter managed to avoid unpleasant red dots that sometimes appear on pieces from that technique.
Its outside and inner texture is composed of a radiant shower of very fine red-brown or russet splashes that may evoke shooting stars. An almost identical color appears on the mouth rim where the glaze is thinner. The only similar known example is at the National Palace Museum in Taipei. It is less glossy.
This practice of black bowls with colored patterns will be later extended in the Jian kilns of the Southern Song with continuous patterns described as hare fur, tea dust, partridge plumage or oil drops. The manufacturing process has not been retrieved. A Southern Song oil pattern bowl from the same Japanese collection as the piece of the next sale was sold for $ 11.7M including premium by Christie's on September 15, 2016.
The bowl coming for sale had been purchased by its current owner at Christie's in 2002 on the advice of an antique dealer. She evokes the sensational features of this piece in the video shared by The Value.com Ltd.
The Charming Pala Prince
2017 SOLD for $ 24.7M including premium
The dynasty which reigned through four centuries over Bengal and Bihar is identified as Pala, a suffix meaning "protector" that was added to the personal name of each monarch.
Three religions cohabitated : Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. They shared a same preoccupation of regulating the communication between the divine and the mortal. In Buddhism this function is assured by the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.
On March 14 in New York, Christie's sells as lot 233 a statue realized in the later phase of the Pala period around 900 years ago.
The young man sits on a thick lotus, one leg bent and the other hanging. This figure is carved in a black stone similar to a schist which was widely used in the Pala steles and whose hardness enables a great sharpness of sculpture.
He necessarily has all the qualities. The spectacular dynamism of the attitude appeals to dialogue with the faithful. He is a prince elegantly dressed with a profusion of pectoral jewels chiseled in the stone but he also is an ascetic recognizable by his braided hair. His belonging to Buddhism is identified by Amitabha hidden in a fold of the tiara : he is altogether Avalokiteshvara, the all-seeing lord, and Lokanatha, the savior of the world.
The character is life-size in this 148 cm high statue. Such characteristics unusual in Buddhist art suggests that it was the main devotional figure in a temple specially dedicated to Avalokiteshvara.
It was from 1922 an important piece in the collection of Indian art of the Boston Museum before being de-accessionned in 1935 for a trade with another statue of the same culture. The arms and nose were missing. The nose was later rebuilt.
Three religions cohabitated : Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. They shared a same preoccupation of regulating the communication between the divine and the mortal. In Buddhism this function is assured by the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.
On March 14 in New York, Christie's sells as lot 233 a statue realized in the later phase of the Pala period around 900 years ago.
The young man sits on a thick lotus, one leg bent and the other hanging. This figure is carved in a black stone similar to a schist which was widely used in the Pala steles and whose hardness enables a great sharpness of sculpture.
He necessarily has all the qualities. The spectacular dynamism of the attitude appeals to dialogue with the faithful. He is a prince elegantly dressed with a profusion of pectoral jewels chiseled in the stone but he also is an ascetic recognizable by his braided hair. His belonging to Buddhism is identified by Amitabha hidden in a fold of the tiara : he is altogether Avalokiteshvara, the all-seeing lord, and Lokanatha, the savior of the world.
The character is life-size in this 148 cm high statue. Such characteristics unusual in Buddhist art suggests that it was the main devotional figure in a temple specially dedicated to Avalokiteshvara.
It was from 1922 an important piece in the collection of Indian art of the Boston Museum before being de-accessionned in 1935 for a trade with another statue of the same culture. The arms and nose were missing. The nose was later rebuilt.
#AsianArtWeek : du 14 au 17 mars @ChristiesInc organise une série de ventes consacrées à l’art d’Asie https://t.co/RTGNrQolil pic.twitter.com/ampK2u6qRS
— Christie's Paris (@christiesparis) March 13, 2017
1120 Guqin (plucked string instrument) for Song emperor Huizong
2010 SOLD 137 M RMB yuan including premium by Poly
Link to post sale article by People's Daily.
Awakening with the Sage
2015 SOLD for $ 4.9M including premium
Asian Buddhist bronzes show figures of deities that express the full range of helpful attitudes for communicating with the faithful: serenity, meditation, intimidation. The portraits of actual personalities are scarce.
The collector Robert Hatfield Ellsworth liked to surround himself with his favorite pieces scattered in his huge apartment in Manhattan. On the headboard of his bedroom, his preferred bronze greeted his awakening every morning. He named it his Yogi.
This statuette 32 cm high is the portrait of a sage seated in the lotus position. The wide open eyes indicate his will to communicate with his visitors and classifies him among the teachers. The smooth forehead without the third eye is confirming that the model was a human.
Several elements including the fleshy body and the dense and curly hair are reminiscent of Padampa Sangye. This important mahasiddha (great Buddhist adept) was born in South India and died 900 years ago after teaching perfection in Tibet for many years.
This bronze is estimated $ 1M for sale without reserves by Christie's in New York on March 17, lot 8. The subtitle of this lot in the catalog originates it in Tibet in the 11th or 12th century of our calendar, considering in fact that this figure is contemporary of the life of the sage or slightly later.
The collector Robert Hatfield Ellsworth liked to surround himself with his favorite pieces scattered in his huge apartment in Manhattan. On the headboard of his bedroom, his preferred bronze greeted his awakening every morning. He named it his Yogi.
This statuette 32 cm high is the portrait of a sage seated in the lotus position. The wide open eyes indicate his will to communicate with his visitors and classifies him among the teachers. The smooth forehead without the third eye is confirming that the model was a human.
Several elements including the fleshy body and the dense and curly hair are reminiscent of Padampa Sangye. This important mahasiddha (great Buddhist adept) was born in South India and died 900 years ago after teaching perfection in Tibet for many years.
This bronze is estimated $ 1M for sale without reserves by Christie's in New York on March 17, lot 8. The subtitle of this lot in the catalog originates it in Tibet in the 11th or 12th century of our calendar, considering in fact that this figure is contemporary of the life of the sage or slightly later.
Five Himalayan masterpieces from the Ellsworth Collection http://t.co/AhFhM0yAb5 #ArtDigest pic.twitter.com/28TWFu2r8l
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) March 5, 2015
